I had a ball at the antique mall

I was looking for something fun to do on Saturday while Marc was working. I was looking for the kind of place that you can just wander around and look at things, preferably of the non-generic variety. Google can be your friend in times like these. After just one search, I had my destination. And it was just a little more than a mile away.

The Cambridge Antique Market is five floors of ... stuff. As in, every single floor of the building pictured above is filled with oldness. Some was old and gross. Some was old and awesome. It was a standard New England antique mall, and it was exactly what I needed to pass the hours on a cold February day.

I love walking around and looking at things. It's fun to imagine what people will do -- or once did -- with all of the stuff, and it also makes for some truly great people watching. I got this picture from the Cambridge Antique Market's Facebook page. It's kind of blurry, but it shows the volume of objects in the store.

I did end up taking home a few treasures. Like this bronze horse

and these shiny green and white lacquered dishes from Austria.

The undersides of these dishes are shiny red. I love them! I think they'll be great to hold paperclips and other small desktop items.

I also got this scarf for $1. I'm thinking I'll eventually frame it, because I've had a thing for framed textiles lately.

And here's my big ticket item. I saw it within 2 minutes of entering the store, and I really think we were meant to be together.

You see, I have his cousin waiting at home:

I got the first block print at an antique print store on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Thomas Jefferson has never looked so good in all his graphic, antique glory. I love the yellow border on the black and white print, and the way the gold frame I ended up choosing echoes the yellow rectangle in the print.

I love the way the two prints are so very different, yet share many of the same elements. Sure, they are from different eras. The dealer at CAM told me Johann was made by mid-century artist Mervin Jules. The print of Thomas is from a book from the 1800s. And in real life, the two men actually only overlapped for 7 years -- Jefferson was born in 1743, and Bach died in 1750.

But I don't care. I look at the two prints together, and I love the way they complement one another. The Bach picture on its own has the potential to be very poppy (as in pop art, not the flower), which is a look I'm not crazy about. So I know I need to choose the frame and the room it hangs in carefully. Good thing I have plenty of time! I see more tips to the Cambridge Antique Market in my future ...